Matthew 25:13-30 New King James (NKJV)
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Reflection:
The parable of the talents can be meditated on from a couple different perspectives. The obvious one is that of monetary stewardship. One talent of gold equates to 455kgs. I looked it up and by today’s standards 1 kg of gold is worth approximately $43,371.35. So, looking above at the minimal investment the wealthy man made with a servant was 1 talent or $19, 733,964.20.
Selah, Saints…the rich man gave that servant by present day standards 19 MILLION+ dollars and that servant buried it! What would you do in that sort of situation? The fact that he didn’t spend it at all was remarkable. However, what was a lot more staggering, was the other two servants doubling the resources entrusted by their master…do the math.
Don’t get me wrong, that literal interpretation of this parable is amazing, but I would like to delve deeper from a different perspective that the Lord revealed to me of the late. Consider a talent to be a community of individuals (i.e. family, extended family, church family, friends, co-workers, and any other social network). Depending on the community, there are set amount of souls that are entrusted to us by the Lord. To be a Christian is to be Christ-like, look at the following two scriptures.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” – John 10:27-30
“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” John 14:19-21
Jesus said in John 10 that no one will snatch out of His hand the individuals that the Father had entrusted to Him. If Jesus is in the Father and then Jesus is in us, then the same goes for the people in our lives. What if the “talents” for each of the servants in the parable represented an interactions with souls that the Lord brought across their paths in their lifetimes? The first two servants used the people that the Father brought to them to impact others and multiplied the return of souls for the Kingdom. While the last servant didn’t nurture and/or grew any of the relationships that was given to him, hence returning to the Lord souls in the same condition as when the Lord gave him the task of watching them. Saints, interactions we have with others can have ripple effects in one’s immediate circle of influence that then radiates out further than we will ever know…from now into eternity.
Remember Beloved, faith is expensive, but souls are priceless. If you invest your interactions (talents) with the people that the Lord has specifically placed in your life – short term and long term – that time sown in obedience concerning them will yield a harvest for the Kingdom.
Prayer is the currency of Heaven and praise is the exchange rate here on earth. Our goal as Believers is to make an impact for Christ with every interaction that we have.
So, what will be your return unto the Master?
Seeking Revelation:
Grab your notebook:
- What talents has the Lord placed in your life? / What communities are you a part of? (i.e. family, extended family, church family, friends, co-workers, and any other social network)
- How are you impacting that community of individuals for the Lord?
- Moving forward, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as to where to invest your interactions with individuals to reap the maximum eternal return.